Hawke's Bay's Brook MacDonald has joined an exclusive group of New Zealand mountainbike athletes with a podium finish at the second round of the UCI World Cup in Fort William, Scotland.
The 2009 junior world downhill champion raced a flawless run on the Ben Nevis mountain to finish third yesterday, his first elite World Cup podium finish.
The result confirmed MacDonald's rapid and successful transition from the junior ranks into the top flight. He rode a reasonably conservative top third on the Fort William race course, but drove hard to the finish line, gaining time all the way and displaying a confidence-inspiring level of fitness and mental strength on the physically demanding Scottish mountain.
MacDonald enjoyed a fair chunk of time in the leaders hotseat, a week out from round three of the World Cup in Leogang, Austria.
Three other New Zealand athletes were right on his heels.
Christchurch's Cam Cole recovered from a poor qualifying run after having a rear deraillieur issue to finish sixth, with Wanganui's Sam Blenkinsop a spot behind. Justin Leov, of Dunedin, backed up a strong qualifying run to finish eighth, completing a top showing from the New Zealanders.
